AB 1373, as amended, Santiago. Outdoor advertising: City of Los Angeles.
The Outdoor Advertising Act provides for the regulation by the Department of Transportation of advertising displays, as defined, within view of public highways. The act exempts from certain of its provisions advertising displays that advertise the business conducted or services rendered or goods produced or sold on the property upon which the display is placed, as specified.
This bill would exempt from those provisions of the act advertising displays located in a specific geographic area in the City of Los Angeles if those displays meet specified conditions and requirements, including the adoption of, and compliance with, an ordinance by the City of Los Angeles. The bill would impose certain conditions if the advertising display authorized by this bill is a message center display. The bill would requirebegin delete thatend deletebegin insert
that,end insert if an advertising display is subject to a notice from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, or other applicable federal agency to the state that the operation of that display will result in the reduction of federal funds, as provided, authorization of the display would cease 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of the receipt of the federal notice, and would require the display owner to remove all advertising copy within that time or be subject to specified civil fines.
The bill would make the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the bill’s requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and hold the department harmless if the city fails to do so.
This bill would also make findings and declarations as to the need for a special statute relating to the City of Los Angeles.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 5272.2 is added to the Business and
2Professions Code, to read:
(a) With the exception of Article 4 (commencing with
4Section 5300) and Sections 5400 to 5404, inclusive, this chapter
5does not apply to any advertising display located in the geographic
6area in the City of Los Angeles bounded bybegin delete W. 8th Streetend deletebegin insert Wilshire
7Boulevardend insert on the northeast, S. Figueroa Street on the southeast,
8Interstate 10 on the southwest, and State Route 110 on the
9northwest, if all of the following conditions are met:
10(1) The advertising display is authorized by, or in accordance
11with, an
ordinance, including, but not limited to, a specific plan
12or sign district, adopted by the City of Los Angeles that regulates
13advertising displays by identifying the specific displays or
14establishing regulations that include, at a minimum, all of the
15following:
16(A) Number of signs and total signage area allowed.
17(B) Maximum individual signage area.
18(C) Minimum sign separation.
19(D) Illumination restrictions and regulations, including signage
20refresh rate, scrolling, and brightness.
21(E) Illuminated sign hours of operation.
22(2) The owner of
the advertising display has submitted to the
23department a copy of the ordinance adopted by the City of Los
24Angeles authorizing the advertising display and identification of
25the provisions of the ordinance required under paragraph (1) and
P3 1the department has certified that the ordinance meets the minimum
2requirements contained in paragraph (1).
3(3) The advertising display will not advertise products, goods,
4or services related to tobacco, firearms, or sexually explicit
5material.
6(4) This chapter does not limit the City of Los Angeles from
7adopting ordinances prohibiting or further restricting the size,
8number, or type of advertising displays permitted by this section.
9(5) If the advertising display is a message center, the
owner of
10the display shall do one of the following:
11(A) Make the message center display available on a
12space-available basis for use by the department or the Department
13of the California Highway Patrol for public service messages,
14including Emergency Alert System (Amber Alert) messages
15disseminated pursuant to Section 8594 of the Government Code,
16and messages containing, among other things, reports of commute
17times, drunk driving awareness messages, reports of accidents of
18a serious nature, and emergency disaster communications.
19(B) Make a message center display not subject to this section
20that is under the control of the owner of the advertising display
21available on a space-available basis for public service messages
22in a location acceptable to the department and the Department
of
23the California Highway Patrol.
24(C) Provide funding to the department for the installation of a
25message center display to accommodate those public service
26messages, which may include funding as part of mitigation in
27connection with the approval of development of the property on
28which the message center display is located by the City of Los
29Angeles.
30(b) If an advertising display authorized pursuant to subdivision
31
(a) is subject to a notice from the United States Department of
32Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, or any other
33applicable federal agency to the state that the operation of that
34display will result in the reduction of federal aid highway funds
35provided in Section 131 of Title 23 of the United States Code,
36authorization of the display under subdivision (a) shall cease and
37the display owner shall remove all advertising copy from the
38display within 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of
39the receipt of the federal notice. Failure to remove the advertising
40copy pursuant to this subdivision shall result in a civil fine, imposed
P4 1by the California Department of Transportation, of ten thousand
2dollars ($10,000) per day until the advertising copy is removed.
3The department shall not assume any liability in connection with
4cessation of operation or removal of an
advertising display or
5advertising copy pursuant to this subdivision.
6(c) The City of Los Angeles shall have primary responsibility
7for ensuring that a display authorized pursuant to subdivision (a)
8remains in conformance with all provisions of the ordinance and
9of this section. If the City of Los Angeles fails to ensure that the
10display remains in conformance with all provisions of the ordinance
11and of this section after 30 days of receipt of a written notice from
12the department, the City of Los Angeles shall hold the department
13harmless and indemnify the department for all costs incurred by
14the department to ensure compliance with the ordinance and this
15section or to defend actions challenging the adoption of the
16ordinance allowing the displays.
Due to unique circumstances concerning the location
18of the advertising displays, or proposed advertising displays, set
19forth in this act and the need for advertising in that location, it is
20necessary that an exemption from some of the provisions of the
21Outdoor Advertising Act be provided for those displays, and the
22Legislature finds and declares that a general statute cannot be made
23applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the
24California Constitution.
O
98